16 de Septiembre Mexican Meal

I know everyone makes a big deal about Cinco de Mayo, but today is actually Mexican Independence Day, on September 16. If you are looking for a reason to enjoy some delicious Mexican food (and who isn’t, right?), why not cook up a simple dinner party for your family or friends? These images are from our Mexican-style Mother’s Day dinner earlier this year. We enjoyed a buffet of tortillas, shredded beef and chicken, roasted peppers and mango salsa. Here are a few tips to make it easy and festive!

1. Let someone else do the heavy lifting. The goal on Mother’s Day is to keep the moms out of the kitchen, so rather than slow-cooking and shredding meat for hours, we used the Del Real meats shredded chicken and shredded beef dishes that were sent to me to try.

They were delicious! And their easy preparation gave us time to focus on other fun details.

2. Like festive drinks!

BSB akes a delicious pina colada (virgin in our house). Speciality drinks go a long way toward making it feel like a special occasion!

3. For a colorful, fun and reusable centerpiece all you need are some colorful cans of salsa and inexpensive succulent plants. Simply, open the cans and use or save the salsa for later (or discard if you can’t handle the heat).

You can set the plants still in their pots directly in their festive cans. Remember succulents don’t need as much water as typical plants. In fact, over-watering can kill them.

4. Finish off the table with colorful stoneware, colorful paper napkins, and bright paper flowers for a fun, festive feel that isn’t too kitschy.

Now let’s eat!

Viva Mexico! Happy Independence Day!

Disclosure: I was sent a couple of packages of Del Real Meats to try at no cost to me. I was not compensated in any other way for this post. Opinions expressed herein are, as always, my own.